Murphy's Answer to Countdown

Oh what a night! Yuli's first freshening, and the family's first kidding in a while...

Amazing how much people (myself among the best) can draw from a natural process a never-ending series of escalating worries.

How odd that we our open minds beset
With phantoms of our own imagining.
To take a process natural as can be,
And beef about the bridges yet to come
Which very well may never come to pass,
And stew in worry over this or that
One hundred thousand ways to skin a cat.
The anguish can attack, annoy, depress,
Afflict us with the grumpies or yet worse,
Make us to run away from what is good.
Yet lacking fears to torment our small minds,
We'd miss the sequel: O! Such sweet relief!

~Daddy Goat

So, where to start? How about with schedules. Yuliana, like many of our animal cousins, has mastered a bit of freedom from calendars. The perfect 150 day gestation would have been Saturday, which would also have fit in with other lovely plans we have made for the following week, showing off the babies and mom in a variety of educational activities. Sunday, Day 151, gave no signs of impending delivery. Monday, Day 152, and the week begins to take hold of our minds... Heck, we probably would even forget she was gestating, except that we have her separated. Tuesday, Day 153... sigh.... A watched doe never kids.

Let's see, what would Murphy do? I know. Let's plan to go to a concert 30 minutes travel away!

Bingo!

"I'm at the concert, where are you?"

"Just checking on the goats. Oh! Yuli is showing mucous! Hmm... I don't think we're joining you, but you go ahead...."

And to annoy the concert masters, but to my delight, text message updates between numbers.

"What's happening?"

"Having contractions... Everything seems fine. Mama coming with supplies soon. I comforting Yuli. She pawing and talking much."

"She eating hay betwn cntrctns. Mor fluids cming out."

"Yuli not eating. We cold & hngry. Concert over?"

"Done. Shall I stop for food on the way home?"

"No, friendly neighbor made us quesadilla's and tea. Get something for yourself."

Almost to the store: "Oh! she's pushing!" Oops! Don't want to miss the birth entirely... Abort food run and go!

Several hours later... after much pushing and pulling, coaxing, fussing--all seeming totally beside the point after the fact--and much licking of everyone and almost everything by the should-already-have-been-a-mother-by-now, out comes a big beautiful white with black baby. Happily identified as a very large doeling at first... but later discovered to be a beautiful boy, 10 pounds 2 ounces. (That explains the delay! Poor Yuli!) Followed hard after by a black with brown brother weighing in at just under 7 pounds.



The new mom knows her stuff! Cleaning up each kid and the kidding area with her unstoppable tongue.